THE DARKNESS WITHIN
by Kedrex
Summary: One boy, his anger, his power, and his darkness. Stuck in a castle with no way out, and a power he cannot control.
1. Chapter 1

THE DARKNESS WITHIN

CHAPTER 1: ANGER

When he was told that darkness was the heart's true essence, he denied the words of the seeker of darkness. A year later, he would wonder if his own heart was strong enough to prove it.

After Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeated the army of Heartless in Hollow Bastion, their journey took an unexpected turn. Learning of Sora's roll in helping Organization XIII, he began to doubt he would ever stop them. That wasn't even the worst of it. He had just learned the organization had kidnaped the girl he cared for most, Kairi. He clenched his fist and pound the arms of his seat as his screamed, "DAMMIT!"

Startled by this outburst, Donald turned away from his terminal. "Sora calm down," Donald began. "We'll find Kairi. Acting like this won't make things any bet-"

"SHUT UP DONALD," Sora screamed cutting him off. "Don't go telling me to calm down! Kairi's been taken so that the organization could get to me! Do you know what it's like to figure out you've been playing puppet to people like them?!" Sora didn't wait for a response. He got up and left the cockpit and headed towards the engine room to cool down.

Sora had never felt this kind of anger before. Suddenly a dark portal opened up right infront of him. It just seemed to sort of sit there. Sora surveyed the area looking for anyone that might've snuck onto the gummi-ship. After seeing no one, Sora decided to take a closer look. He reached out his hand and stepped through. It felt almost familiar to walk through the darkness, like he had extensive experience moving through this kind of environment.

After walking through the darkness for so long, Sora finally saw light. He got closer to it until it was so close it was almost blinding. When color finally returned to his eyes, all he saw was the white floors and walls everywhere he looked. "Where am I?" His eyes wandered this enormous area until he looked at the sky and stared in shock. What he saw was a moon shaped like a heart. "Is that KINGDOM HEARTS?"

Sora moved closer to the railing to get a look at where he might be. When he looked over he realized he was in a castle hovering maybe a thousand yards in the air, right above a city covered in darkness. Before he could register everything that was happening, Nobodies appeared. What he saw was 3 standard Dusks. Instinctively he drew his keyblade, and began his fight. He hacked, slashed, stabbed, and hurled his keyblade through them, but unlike all the others he faced, they weren't going down.

_What's going on,_ Sora thought as he desperately tried to survive against the 3 nobodies that were closing in on him. Suddenly more Nobodies began appearing. Samurais, creepers, and snipers. _So many of them. I don't stand a chance like this. _He had no choice anymore, his only option was to take them down by counter attacking. Blocking, dodging, and using defensive spells like REFLECT. They were beginning to take their toll on him more than his enemies. _I think I get it. This world, it must be their base. It's where they're at their strongest. And the best part is I'm on my own. Okay, calm down. I'm low on magic, beaten up, low on items, and I'm still exhausted from taking on an army of Heartless by myself. If Donald were here, he could heal me while Goofy and I fight. I can't use my Valor, Wisdom, or Master forms without Donald or Goofy._

Sora was beginning to reach his limit. Eventually he'd be too tired to move. _Wait, my Limit form. I could use that... But if I do and I can't maintain it, I'll be done for. _And finally, he was surrounded. Nobodies in front and behind him. On his left and right. _Damn. Guess I don't have a choice. _"Okay Nobodies. You want a fight?! Then I'll give you one!" Sora put his hand to his heart, and a small bright light emerged. "GIVE ME STRENGTH," he screamed as the light expanded into a powerful shock wave that blew away nearby Nobodies. Normally when he uses a form, the light comes back, surrounds his body and reflects off him for a brief second.

NOT THIS TIME.

The light never returned to him. Instead darkness seeped from him and cover his whole body, including his clothes. His keyblade disappeared, and his eyes became yellow. The Nobodies didn't get any closer to him, but they didn't get any farther either. All that could be made out from this dark Sora was a small growl. Then, a deafening roar. Four Dusks were immediately eliminated. Sora lunged at a Samurai, and with his newfound claws, ripped it in half. Sora moved from Nobody to Nobody, destroying anything he could see. Until finally, he was alone. He roared as loud as he could in victory. And went on the hunt for something else to destroy.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

In the Round Room, where 13 thrones sat in a perfect circle, Xemnas sat, waiting for a report on the throne with the Roman numeral I. In the seat labeled VII sat his second in command Saix. "We have an intruder in the castle," reported Saix. "Whatever it was took out 30 Dusks, 15 Samurai, 17 Creepers, and 20 Snipers. A total of 82 Nobodies."

Xemnas merely sat there, pondering over the news he just received. "I want you to find out what this intruder is and whether or not we can use it to our advantage," ordered Xemnas. "But, if it becomes too much of a problem, destroy it."

"Yes Lord Xemnas," complied Saix as he exited the round room.

Saix had immediately ordered every Nobody in the castle to search and capture the intruder. As he walked down the stairs of the TWILIGHT'S VIEW, he heard a voice. "So." announced the voice. Saix turned around and looked up to see Xigbar. "Xemnas is having you do the work you used to have Demyx do huh? Man that's too perfect on the scale of irony."

Saix's face stayed emotionless. "If you have time to make jokes, then you have time to help."

"Sorry Saix. I was just about to leave on a mission. Word is the imposter might be in the LAND OF DRAGONS, so I gotta go cause some trouble to lure him out, and make sure the Keyblade hero has a reason to keep using that key."

"Then why are you wasting time here?" Saix wasn't someone who took kindly to people stalling for their missions.

"Wasting time? As if. I heard that you ordered all the Nobodies in the castle to search for this intruder."

"You have a problem with that?"

"A problem, you could call it that. Unfortunately I'm gonna hafta take some of those snipers with me. If I only cause trouble in one place, the imposter might get me instead."

"Fine."

Xigbar laughed at Saix's obedience. "By the way, it looks like you'll be on your own. Luxord's got a mission in PORT ROYAL, and Xaldin's busy obsessing over making the Beast into a heartless."

"Just go do your mission."

"Just like that huh? As if," said Xigbar as he disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Somewhere else in the castle Sora was running amuck in his new form. It seemed as though he was searching for something. Whatever it was, it drew him deeper and lower into the castle. As he got closer to the lower levels of the castle, he began to get fidgety. He twitched if what he was looking for seemed to get farther instead of closer.

Finally he found a door covered in chains. The scent of his desire was so close now that he could barely contain himself. As he lifted his left hand, he roared and with one swipe, slashed the door apart. As he entered slowly into the bright white room something caught his big yellow eyes. There was a cell just a few yards away from him.

Sora approached it slowly. Whatever was in that cell was exactly what he was looking for. As he crawled closer and closer, his anxiety started to skyrocket. Until he finally looked into the cell and all he saw was a girl with auburn hair, wearing a pink dress and big bright purple shoes. She appeared to be asleep. Next to her was a dog that had noticed Sora. Neither of them growled to the other. In fact, they seemed quite at ease.

Suddenly the girl awoke from her sleep. She looked over at this new person that was starring at her. For a second she almost screamed, until she looked at the newcomer's big yellow eyes. "Hello," she said kindly. Though Sora had lost all sense of who he was while he was trapped in this form, a part of him felt peaceful. Probably because the girl he was so focused on, was Kairi. The very girl he was hell bent on saving was right in front of him. "Who are you?" Kairi could hardly see due to the fact her vision was still blurred from sleeping.

Sora didn't answer. He simply tilted his head to the side like a curious animal. Without a seconds hesitation, Sora grabbed ahold of the cell bars, and ripped the entire section of the wall, like it was nothing. Immediately this made Kairi jump. Sora slowly crept into the cell. He kept getting closer to the now scared Kairi, who was backing up towards the wall. Eventually she had nowhere to go.

Sora was now standing to face her at eye level. His face was only inches away from hers at this point, when out of nowhere, he he let out two small growls. It almost sounded as though he was trying to speak. Kairi's vision finally un-blurred and she could see the features of Sora's face. "Sora," she asked hopefully. "Is that really you?"

Sora said nothing. He simply put his hand gently on her face. No words, no expressions, just a simple touch. Kairi's face immediately lit up with happiness. She hugged Sora as tightly as she could with tears of joy streaming down her face. "Sora, how did you get here?" No response. "I've missed you so much!" Still no response. Kairi couldn't see the truth yet. This was Sora, but he had no consciousness, no vocabulary, not even any memory of who he was.

Within seconds, the reunion between the two had been interrupted. Nobodies had begun to swarm the dungeon. Sora immediately grabbed Kairi and flung her on his back. Along with the dog, Pluto, the two of them ran for the exit. Sora's speed was incredible. He had no problem ramming past the hundreds of Dusks in his way. When They had finally pushed past through all of them, and found a more open area, Sora put Kairi down. Within a mere matter of moments Nobodies had swarmed into that room.

Sora slashed at them with true furiosity, left and right in an onslaught of chaos. Eventually a dusk landed a lucky shot and knocked Sora back towards Kairi. When he hit the ground he used his momentum to push off the ground and continue the fight. When Sora fell however, something fell out of his pocket. It was the charm Kairi had given him. When She picked it up something happened. A bright light began to shine from it. It felt like the light she felt when she was with Sora. When the light finally died down, she realized what she was holding, Sora's Keyblade, the Kingdom Key. Afraid she might lose the charm, she attached it to the key chain, then the Keyblade changed form. It became the legendary Oathkeeper.

Sora meanwhile was beginning to look exhausted. As a dusk almost landed another shot on him, it vanished. Kairi had destroyed it. "Stay away from Sora you creeps," she yelled swinging the Keyblade like a maniac. She swung at anything that came close to them, but she had so little experience with weapons that she would more than likely cause more harm here than good.

Sora took this opportunity to do something extreme. He launched himself into the air. For a brief second Kairi almost thought she heard him telling her to get down. When Sora had reached about ten feet in the air he rose his hands and then slashed them downwards. With that move a gigantic stream of darkness spread throughout the room, eliminating every Nobody in sight. The attack seemed to have drained him completely. As soon as he reconnected with the ground, his body hit the ground.

Kairi ran over to him. "Sora! Are you alright?!" His eyes didn't open, but he was still breathing. Kairi grabbed him by the arms and dragged him into a nearby closet. "Sora," she whispered quietly, "why?" Tears started to form in her eyes. "Why does the one person I love always have to get hurt protecting me?"


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Saix sat in the security room looking over the surveillance footage of the know locations of the intruder. But all the footage he obtained was either lost due to cameras being damaged from the fights, or because whatever this thing was, it was too fast to get a clearly focused look at. And the best part was that it had freed Kairi, their best piece of leverage against Sora. "Damn intruder," commented Saix. "It's bad enough that we have an intruder at all, but now it's cutting our own forces down."

All of a sudden the door opened to show Xemnas. "Have we made any progress," asked Xemnas.

Saix almost didn't answer. He hated when a mission wasn't completed in time. He felt it very ironic since this was HIS mission. "No Lord Xemnas." He pulled up the video of one of the fights, or massacres if you wanna be a little more accurate, that had gotten some footage. All that could be seen was a black blur moving too fast for the video to focus on. "As you can see, our guest is too fast and powerful for any standard Nobody. We will need to unleash my Berserkers, as well as the Sorcerers, Dragoons, Assassins, and a few Gamblers. Maybe even our test subject."

Xemnas looked amused. Nothing had ever caused him so much trouble before, not even when Roxas betrayed the organization. "I have high hopes for this potential asset." With that, Xemnas turned to leave the room. "I've changed my mind. Don't eliminate it. Capture it if you can."

"Yes Lord Xemnas."

As Xemnas left the room and walked down the hall, he turned around. For a brief second, he thought he felt the presence of someone else nearby. He continued his walk down the hall. As soon as he turned the corner a man in a black coat, with his hood still up, walked out of a nearby room just down the hall. Underneath that hood was Riku, still trapped in the form of Ansem. "So there's someone in that castle who's not too friendly with the organization? Could be a good ally if they're causing them so much trouble." Riku continued to walk towards an exit so that he might be able to find this newcomer. "Since they've taken out most of the surveillance and rescued Kairi, I don't think I'll need to be as sneaky as usual. But Kairi has to be my top priority now." Riku ran out the exit to begin his search for the hopeful ally.

_AUTHOR'S NOTE I'm gonna try to make this story last as long as I can. From here on I'll put up an update each week._


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Sora had been unconscious for a good hour now. Kairi had been letting him used her lap as a pillow. It had been nothing but silence ever since she hid in the closet with Sora. Now the silence had finally been broken. The door knob was beginning to shake and rattle. Someone was trying to get in. Kairi reached for the Oathkeeper in hopes that whatever was trying to open the locked door was small and weak. BAM BAM BAM. Now they were trying to break the door down. The door had been holding for awhile, but it wasn't very strong. With each bang on the door, it made a cracking noise. That door had maybe five or six more hits until it was destroyed. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM. This was it one more and that door was coming down.

On the other side of the door was a single Berserker, backing up to propel itself towards the door. As quickly it launched itself at the door, it had started going in the other direction. Somehow Kairi had managed to use the Reflect spell well enough to not only stop the Nobody, but she had knocked it back and protected Sora too. "Y-You stay away from Sora," she screamed. Kairi was terrified since her opponent was not only bigger than her, but because she had NO experience with a Keyblade, and that REFLECT spell was a complete fluke. But she had a plan. Maybe she could BLUFF her way out. "Yeah! You want some more of that?!" The Berserker picked itself up and began to moved towards Kairi again. "Oh, I guess so," she said nervously.

The Berserker lifted its gigantic Claymore into the air, and was about to slam it onto his target. Suddenly it was destroyed. A man in a black coat had destroyed it using a weapon that looked oddly familiar to Kairi. A blue and red blade shaped like a demon wing. Wait. That was Soul Eater, Riku's weapon. "Are you alright," asked the mysterious man. Wait, that didn't sound anything like Riku's voice. "Well?"

Kairi straightened up almost immediately. "Yes. I'm fine."

Riku left his hood up. Clearly he wanted his identity to be kept secret. "Where is the person who helped you?"

Kairi suddenly got suspicious. "Why do you want to know that?"

Riku couldn't tell her the entire truth behind the question without revealing his identity. "He's attacking the organization. Enemy of my enemy and all that."

Kairi glared at her suspect. "How do I know I can even trust you? You haven't even shown me your face."

'Dammit Kairi,' Riku thought to himself. 'Why do you gotta make things difficult for me?' "I prefer to keep my identity to myself if that's alright with you." Kairi didn't looked like she was even willing to consider leading him anywhere now. "Look, if I was going to hurt you, then why would I even bother helping you?"

"Duh," she responded cynically. "So you'll get me to lower my guard."

She always had to be difficult. Riku was running out of ideas now. But luckily for him, he caught a glimpse of the Keyblade. It felt weird though. It didn't belong to Kairi, in fact it felt like HIS old Keyblade that chose Sora. 'Wait, that's it. Sora must've caught onto the clues I gave him! He's a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.' "Kairi, where is Sora now?"

Kairi's eyes widened in shock. "How'd you-"

The conversation was cut off by a Dragoon Lance that landed in between them. Before they knew it, practically every type of Nobody was surrounding the two of them.

"Well well," said a voice coming from the entrance. Riku and Kairi looked to see Saix. "So, you're the one who's been running amuck in the castle, imposter." Saix snapped his fingers, and nearly every Nobody began its assault.

Riku slashed at every Nobody that came his way, but he was basically fighting handicapped. Kairi didn't have his experience or any natural talent for magic. She'd only be able to fight these things for so long before they were overrun. And what's more, even IF they managed to defeat them all, they'd still have to deal with Saix. The second in command of the organization. Riku has never gone up against him in the past. Roxas had taken him down once, and Riku had taken Roxas down. Then again, Roxas didn't have to fight an army like this beforehand.

"My orders were to take you in alive," noted Saix. "That is, assuming you would've been of any use to us. But this is even better. You'll refuse to help us no matter what we do to you." Riku did not like where this was going. "So I'll just eliminate you right here and now."

Onslaught after onslaught began to take its toll on not just Kairi, but Riku as well. They had held them off as long as they could. Their limits had been reached. The Nobodies moved in slowly, ready to deliver the final strike to only Riku. They still needed Kairi alive. A Samurai raised its blade to carry out the execution. As it began to slash downwards, it was stopped. The Samurai had been tackled by, a now awakened, Sora. as it hit the ground, Sora took its blade and with it, destroyed the Nobody. When it disappeared, so did the sword. He didn't stop there. As quickly as he could, he jumped to a Berserker so fast that it lost its grip on its claymore, resulting in Sora grabbing it and swinging it so wide that 90 percent of the remaining Nobodies, including the Berserker itself, were gone in mere seconds. Sora roared as loud as he could to make his power and presence known even more. All that remained was 2 Assassins, 6 Creepers, 4 Dusks, 1 Gambler, 2 Dragoons, 1 Berserker, and Saix.

**A/N : I take it back. I'll update as often as possible. At the very least I'm gonna try to make this last 10 chapters long. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

No one could see it, but Riku's face was covered in shock. Sora, the one person who Riku thought would never use darkness, was covered in a pure form of it. He looked vicious. "Sora?" Riku couldn't believe it.

Saix looked over to see that the intruder WAS in fact Sora. A new, more savage like, Sora. "Interesting," Saix said. "It's almost as though he's taken the form of a heartless again." Saix snapped his fingers once again, and then the 2 Assassins disappeared into the ground. "Kairi, if you surrender now, I will not harm either you, nor Sora."

Kairi simply glared at him. "What about him," she stated pointing at the hooded Riku.

Saix didn't even glance at Riku. "He will be killed."

Kairi's eyes widened in horror. 'Killed'? She couldn't accept it. He had risked his life to protect hers. How could she possibly betray someone so selfless? "No," she answered angrily. "I'd rather go down fighting!"

"Very well," Saix replied, not showing emotion.

He then snapped his fingers. The 2 Assassins appeared from the ground and pinned Sora's back against the wall, keeping his arms held down. The Dragoons vanished and appeared in the air above Riku and thrust down towards him with full intent on instantly killing him. Fortunately Riku knew their tactics and managed to dodge them at the last second. He managed to summon enough power to shoot his Dark Firaga blast at them, but if he were to try that again, odds are the Nobodies wouldn't need to kill him. Relying too heavily on Dark powers ALWAYS came with a heavy price. A Creeper jumped straight at Riku shifting into a javelin and almost impaled him, until Kairi jumped into the air and slashed it into full nothingness.

Riku's jaw practically dropped to the floor. "How-"

Kairi turned her head towards Riku, and she looked even more shocked than he did. "HOW THE HELL DID I JUST DO THAT," she yelled in extreme shock.

Sora took the distraction and kicked himself off the ground. His arms were still being tightly held, as a result his body rotated enough that he was able to kick off the wall. He may not have broken the grip from the Assassins, but that just played to his advantage. He used the two Nobodies like maces, smashing into all 5 Creepers, destroying them and the Assassins. The three friends now stood together, each of them ready to fight again.

Kairi's stance seemed more composed at this point. Riku had noticed almost immediately. 'Her stance is better.' "To answer your question from earlier, it's because you're using Sora's Keyblade. Whatever's happened to him has suppressed his ability to use it. Because of the connection you share, it's allowing you to use it."

Kairi looked down at the Keyblade and closed her eyes. When she did, she felt as though Sora had become part of her, giving her strength, as though they were one. Strangely enough, she felt as though she were standing not only with Sora, but with Riku as well. 'I can feel their strength flowing into me.' Kairi suddenly started bursting with power. Light flowed off her like it could kill on contact. "I won't stand by and let you hurt my friends!"

Saix starred with no emotion. "If I had a heart then I would die of laughter," Saix said insultingly. Then, like he does whenever he makes a command, he snapped his fingers.

"AAAAHHHH," screamed Kairi. "ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN FINGER SNAPPING!" Kairi lunged herself at Saix, only to be blocked by the Berserker's Claymore. It then attempted a counterattack on Kairi, but just before it made contact Kairi had been pushed out of the way by Sora. He had taken the full impact force. He'd been hit so had that he actually made a Sora sized impression into the wall.

"Sora," screamed Riku. The Gambler then attempted to attack Riku from behind, but his anger had finally reached its limit. He turned and slashed straight through the cards it flung at him, and with another strike he eliminated the would-be assailant. "I've had enough!"

All that remained now was 4 Dusks and the Berserker. Sora jumped to multiple walls, slashing the Dusks with his claws. Sora's attacks had become more controlled and less savage like. Almost like he was regaining his consciousness.

Saix looked almost surprised and annoyed . "Well," he began, "the three of you are proving to be more trouble than I ever thought you could be."

Saix raised his hand. "Don't you do it," commanded Kairi. Saix simply smirked, and snapped his fingers. "YOU RAT BASTARD!"

The Berserker swung its claymore directly at Kairi. She back stepped just out of swing range, and immediately used instincts to get in close enough to stab it straight through the head, causing it to vanish.

Kairi was now smirking at Saix. "Well," she began, "it looks like you're all that's left."

Saix held out his hand and summoned his own claymore. "Maybe so," he replied, "but unlike those weaklings, I don't die easy."

**A/N : So a shorter chapter than last time. But I'm still writing for you guys. To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

'This is bad,' Riku thought. He may not have faced Saix before,but he knew he was powerful. When he used his full power, TRUE BERSERKER MODE, he was unstoppable. He didn't even feel pain when he was like that. Riku raised his sword and lunged straight at Saix. He knew he couldn't give him the chance to use that mode. Riku brought down his Soul Eater, but Saix knocked it away with one front hand swing, and immediately countered with a back handed strike. Riku had no time to block, and the attack came at him too fast. Bam! The weapon had hit him right in the face. Riku then hit the ground.

"No," screamed Kairi as she retaliated, and attacked Saix. Her swings were becoming faster and more accurate. All Saix could do at the moment was dodge. Then Kairi made a downfall swing. She swung the Keyblade sideways, giving Saix the opportunity he needed. Saix leaned back enough to do a back flip, and in doing so, kicked the Oathkeeper out of Kairi's hands, and into the air.

Saix readied his weapon for a brutal strike. "Just remember," said Saix, "I gave you a choice." He swung his weapon sideways, ready to sweep her into the wall. However, something stopped his Claymore. More like 'caught' it actually. Sora had risked taking the blow, and managed to stop him. "You fool."

Sora let out a small growl. "I... Will... Protect," he growled. Sora's new power had been active for so long, it gained a sense of identity.

"Sora is Sora, you jerk," Kairi commented towards Saix. "Of coarse he'd risk everything to protect us!"

Saix looked less than amused. "Well, I'll just have to use that trait when I lock you and him up. He'll fight all the heartless we throw at him in a cage. And it'll all be to keep them from getting to you."

Kairi's face hardened. She expected no less from someone so cruel. She raised her hand and down came the Oathkeeper. It landed right in her hand. "I'll die before I let you hurt Sora." Kairi pointed the tip of Sora's Keyblade at Saix, determination filling her eyes. "Freeze." With that word, the BLIZZARD spell shot from the key towards Saix. His face was covered in shock. Had he not dodged the attack, a great deal of damage might have been done. "I have the power of Sora and Riku within me. And what's more, I'm a princess of heart. I am not going to lose to you."

Sora jumped at Saix, attempting to use his claws to rip him a new one. Saix had been put strictly on the defensive. Sora slashed repeatedly, forcing Saix to back up further and further until finally, he ran out of room. He was backed up against the wall, with Sora in front, Kairi attacking from the right, and a reawakened Riku attaking from the left. He had no other choice now.

"MOON SHINEDOWN!" Saix called. A powerful shockwave emitted from Saix, pushing back the three friends. He had entered TRUE BERSERKER MODE. "ALL SHALL BE LOST TO YOU!" Saix smashed the ground repeatedly, sending shockwave after shockwave towards the three. Sora jumped to the wall, using his claws to keep him there. "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!" Saix jumped into the air and slammed his weapon against the wall. The shock moved fast, but Sora was faster. Sora dashed to the next wall to avoid the attack. Saix didn't slow down though.

Saix continued chasing Sora. He didn't show interest in Riku or Kairi. His only target at the moment was the one person too fast for him to catch. Riku studied Saix's pattern of attack. He knew he couldn't hurt him when he was like that, but he also knew Saix coundn't stay like that forever. Eventually he would need to rest for a few seconds and he'd be defenseless. Saix continued to smash his weapon, trying to get at least one good strike in. Finally he'd caught up to Sora, there would be no escape this time. As he swung his claymore towards Sora, he felt a sudden rush of pain. Berserker Mode had a hefty price. His fatigue would increase, as well as his power. He ignored the pain as it only hindered him. As the attack almost connected with Sora, Riku had shot his Dark Firaga at Saix's claymore. The attack had just barely missed Sora by an inch.

Saix had swung with so much force that when the rush of pain tackled him again, he lost his grip on his own weapon. Saix fell to the floor, still fatigued from the attack. "You think that'll stop me," he screamed. With his claymore stuck in the wall next to Sora, his screaming threat seemed much less powerful to the three. At least until he had summoned a brand new claymore, with the other one still in the wall. "I AM NEVER WITHOUT A WEAPON!" Saix swung his weapon at Riku and Kairi now. Kairi jumped into the air, and Riku dashed backwards.

Saix set his sights on Kairi now. Riku could still dodge him, but Kairi would eventually have to reconnect with the ground. He positioned himself for a brutal strike. 3. 2. 1. Saix swung towards the descending Kairi, only to miss. Sora had jumped fast enough to catch her in mid-air. Sora and Kairi were now on the wall together. Sora roared towards Saix, almost like it was his way of saying, "try that again, and I'll make you wish I'd send you to hell".

"This isn't working," stated Kairi. "We need something that can break that power of his." She watched him closely. He had to have a weakness.

Riku took the opportunity to strike at Saix. He went in for a stab, but Saix merely side stepped, and swung sideways. Riku knew Saix's weapon was too heavy for him to block, especially when he was still in his residual Berserker Mode. Riku ducked down and swung upwards, slashing a small cut in Saix's chest. Blood emitted from his chest into the air. Riku didn't bask in his one strike though. Saix hadn't even flinched. Saix brought his weapon down towards Riku's head, but Riku had jumped back far enough to get away.

Kairi, still being held by Sora, was watching the fight as closely as she could. Back and fourth, Saix and the "imposter", as Saix had stated, were in your traditional fight to the death. "Sora," she said. Sora responded, as if he was actually listening. "Listen, I don't know if you actually understand me, but I need you to distract him." Sora's gazed kept locked on her. "Do you understand? I need you to keep him busy long enough for me to get a good shot in."

Sora put Kairi on the ground. It seemed as though he had understood her after all. Sora rushed at Saix. He hit him hard enough to knock him off balance, but Saix regained his footing instantly. Riku took another chance at a stab, aiming for Saix's head, but the claymore blocked his failed attempt. Sora went in and slashed at Saix's face, but all he could manage was a small cut. Riku stepped in for a vertical slash, but Saix dodged that attack too.

'This is taking far too long,' thought Saix. 'I can't return to full Berserker Mode yet. If I do, I'll be handing them my extermination on a silver platter.' Saix had more than luck on his side at the moment, since he was still alive after all the fatigue he was fighting, but he also had years of experience. Experience, Sora and Kairi, definitely did not have. But the imposter, he wasn't entirely sure who he even was yet.

Saix could feel his strength returning. Very soon he'd have the necessary strength to finish this fight. "FREEZE," screamed Kairi from behind him. Sora and Riku had forced Saix into a point-blank ranged BLIZZARD attack. Before he knew it, he was covered in a thick layer of ice. Kairi dropped to her knees, clearly exhausted from the fight. "Wow," she began, "that was a hell of a lot tougher than I thought it would be." Sora sat next to her, cross legged. He didn't say anything. He just starred at Kairi, clearly impressed with her plan. "Don't stare at me like that Sora." She turned her face away, trying to hide the fact that she was now blushing.

Riku stepped next to her. Hood still up and all. "You've gotten so much stronger than before." Riku looked at his two childhood friends with pride. He wished he could tell them who he was, but he was too ashamed of himself. He had given into the darkness, and now he looked like the enemy that had tried to kill Sora, orchestrated the destruction of the worlds, lead the heartless, and had Maleficent capture Kairi and the other Princesses of Hearts. He felt like he could never face them with his current form.

"So," Kairi spoke up. "Since we've finally caught ourselves a breather, do you mind telling me just who you are?" Kairi smiled up towards Riku. Sora didn't smile, but he looked towards him sincerely. They had just fought an army and Saix together.

"Well," he began, "I'm actually-"

BOOM! Saix had broken free of his ice prison. "YOU LITTLE RATS," he screamed. "I WILL TURN YOU ALL INTO NOTHINGNESS!" He slammed his claymore to the ground, knocking all three friends in different directions. Riku had been knocked to the ground. Kairi had been knocked unconscious when her head hit the wall. Sora himself had been knocked into the wall, again, right next to Saix's first Claymore. Saix walked over to the weaponless Riku. "You little maggots have caused me enough trouble for one day a lifetime."

Saix raised his claymore, ready to deliver the final blow to Riku. Riku was too exhausted and beaten to fight back anymore. He shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable strike. "BEGONE," screamed Saix as he thrust his weapon towards Riku's head. But Riku's time had not come today. Sora had slammed Saix away from Riku, using Saix's very own claymore against him. Saix starred in disbelief. No one had ever used his own weapon against him. "You dare?!"

Sora charged at Saix. Saix swung sideways but Sora ducked out of danger, and swung the weapon in his hands upwards, knocking Saix into the air. Sora jumped towards him. "I... Will...," he barely said, "PROTECT THEM!" Sora slammed Saix's claymore into his so hard that Saix had smashed through the nearby window.

Saix fell 3 floors down. He landed just on the edge of a walkway, coughing up blood. "Damn... it," he said in defeat.

**A/N: Story's not done yet. Remember I said ten chapters. And please don't keep posting "Update" in the review section. I'll update when I have free time.**


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Sora stood in front of the smashed window, and starred down at Saix. He could've gone down there to finish the job. Hell, if he were still as mindless as he was when he first became what he is, he probably would have. Sora simply dropped the claymore in his hand. As soon as it hit the ground, it vanished. Sora slowly walked over to the unconscious Kairi. She wasn't bleeding, but she didn't look great.

"We need to get her to the infirmary," said Riku as he picked her up. "We can fix her up there. After that, we're getting the hell outta here." Sora looked at Riku's left leg, and noticed it was covered in blood. "Don't worry about me Sora. I can patch myself up in the infirmary after we help Kairi."

The quiet that surrounded them had suddenly been broken. "You think that you're actually gonna make it there alive," screamed a new voice. "As if." Riku's eyes widened. At first he couldn't tell who's voice that was, but that phrase was used by a particular Organization member. Xigbar was close by.

Before they knew it, a round from Xigbar's gun was heading straight for Riku's head. Sora stepped in and slashed, shattering it into pieces. "Go," he growled. Riku looked like he wanted to protest, but Sora had pinpointed Xigbar's location the very second that shot had been fired. Sora ran to the origin source, scratching the ground as he ran.

Xigbar jumped out of the shadow he'd been hiding in. "So, you're the intruder huh, Sora?" Xigbar landed behind Sora and shot a few rounds at his non-vital areas. Sora dodged them easily. "So Sora," Xigbar continued, still firing shots at him, "what's with the new look? Going for a more vicious thing these days? Gotta tell ya, it's working for ya." Sora kept dodging his shots, trying desperately to stay alive. "C'mon Roxas, is that all you got?"

Sora was still exhausted from the last fight. He wouldn't be able to keep running for long. Suddenly, the shots stopped. He looked over to see that Xigbar had run out of ammo. This was his chance. Sora ran straight towards Xigbar, and slashed at him. However, he hit nothing. Xigbar had vanished. "You think it's gonna be that easy kiddo," echoed Xigbar's voice. Sora looked up to see him hanging upside down near the ceiling. "As if!" Sora saw that his guns had been fully reloaded. Sora began his new run again. Xigbar's powers were over space. He could teleport anywhere that was a short distance away. And long ranged attacks were his strength. Sora had an easier time fighting Saix. At least he was a close range combatant. But now Sora was forced out of his comfort zone of fighting.

Meanwhile, Riku had carried Kairi to the infirmary. "Okay Kairi," he said out loud. "Wait here for now." Riku turned to leave, but something had grabbed his arm.

He turned to see Kairi, fully awake and standing. "You're not going alone," she stated. "Listen, I care too much about Sora to let him do all the fighting. I'm going back, and don't bother trying to stop me."

Riku could barely stand, let alone stop her from going. "You don't even have the Keyblade anymore. You dropped it when you were knock out."

"And you think that's gonna stop me?" Kairi looked like she could take on another army at this point. She pushed past Riku like he was a light weight. "I'm going. End of story."

Sora was still running for his life. Dashing around the room left and right. Every time Xigbar ran out of ammo, he warped away to reload. This was less of a fight and more of a game of cat and mouse. "Ain't you tired yet Roxas," screamed Xigbar. Sora was starting to lose speed. If he kept going like this, he'd drop due to exhaustion. Xigbar's shots seem to have their own limit. Six per gun. Sora kept running until he noticed Xigbar's shot had reached 10. With his new strategy in play, he charged at Xigbar. He shot at Sora with his last two shots, but Sora was too fast. "Damn!" Xigbar would've warped away, but Sora had already gotten him.

Xigbar fell to the ground, blood dripping from the side of his head. Sora loomed over him. The game he had been forced to play had infuriated him to no end. He raised his claw to deliver the final strike, but stopped himself. Some part of him was holding him back. Xigbar took the opportunity. He used his secret weapon. He put his two guns together and fire off a huge shot. Sora managed to jump out of the way, but that wasn't enough. Xigbar's normal shot shattered after making contact with whatever they hit, but this shot was larger and bounced off any surface it hit. Sora wasn't ready for a rebound attack, it grazed against his back, causing blood to spill from him. Sora let out a roar of pain so loud it could break glass. It probably would have if Saix hadn't already smashed through it.

Xigbar got right next to Sora and pointed his gun at him. "Today's not your day kiddo." Before he knew it, Xigbar's gun was knocked out of his hand. Kairi had returned with Riku. Xigbar just laughed. "So, you ran away, only to run straight back? Man that's stupid of you poppet."

Kairi looked both confused and offended. "Poppet," she complained. "Just cause I'm a girl, don't think I won't kick your ass for that!"

Riku got between her and Xigbar. "Look after Sora," Riku said softly. "I'll handle him." Riku summon his Soul Eater, and prepared for battle. "Try fighting someone with an actual chance!" Riku rushed towards Xigbar, as he shot continuously at Riku. Riku simply knocked every shot away, without losing and speed. Xigbar had run out of shots, and he didn't have enough time to build up power for his large shot. SLASH! Riku had gotten a clean cut on Xigbar's chest, ripping his coat in the process.

Xigbar looked shocked that he had actually been hit. "Well what do ya know," laughed Xigbar, "I haven't been in a fight like this since Terra!" Xigbar warped away into nothing. Riku looked all around the area, but he couldn't tell where he was until it was too late. BAM! Riku gasped in pain. Xigbar had warped right behind him, and shot him, point blank, in the back. The shot had gone straight through him. "You thought you could beat me?! AS IF!"

Riku fell to his knees, blood dripping from the wound he was holding. Xigbar pointed his gun to Riku's head. "STOP," screamed Kairi. Xigbar turned to face her, she was holding the Oathkeeper ready for battle. "If you do anything else to him, I'll make you wish that I'd kill you!" Kairi stopped for a second, pondering over he statement. "I-I mean, cuz you know... I'll beat you up... Repeatedly!" Xigbar just started laughing like a maniac. "HEY! IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Kairi looked angry as Hell now. Her recent comment didn't seem to help her with this fight. She noticed something though, Xigbar's eye, that wasn't covered by an eye patch, was closed tight. Kairi took the chance and rushed at him. Her poorly executed threat had actually given her an opening. By the time Xigbar had opened his eye, Kairi was slashing upwards to his face. Xigbar didn't have time to dodge, as a result, Kairi had made a small cut on his face.

Xigbar had lost his footing, Kairi slashed more and more, forcing him to back up repeatedly. Xigbar was so distracted by the Keyblade coming towards him that he couldn't think clearly. 'Damn girl. She's got the edge on me,' thought Xigbar. What he did manage to notice was that Sora wasn't where he left him. Only a small puddle of blood was there. Sora was gone. Xigbar surveyed the area, searching while dodging all of Kairi's blows. He finally caught a glimpse of Sora in the corner of his eye. Sora was hanging high on the ceiling. Sora then jumped towards Xigbar, roaring with claws covered in his own blood. Kairi saw Xigbar's distraction and went in for a stab. No where to run anymore. Kairi's stab had grazed him on his right side, and Sora had given him a second gash on his chest.

Xigbar dropped to one knee, clearly in pain. Kairi lifted the Keyblade under next to his neck. "You thought you could beat us," Kairi mocked, "AS IF." Xigbar smiled at the irony of someone using his own phrase against him. "How do we get out of here?"

Xigbar laughed, "You think I'm just gonna tell you? HMPH. As If." Xigbar dropped face first to the ground. He hadn't faded away, he just passed out out from the pain.

Riku now stood next to the two. "Good job," he said weakly, holding the wound where he was shot."

Kairi's internal alarm suddenly went off. "Oh no! Are you alright?!" Riku moved his hand from the wound. Kairi looked shocked. The wound had been closed, from both sides. "How-"

"I used my Dark Fire to sear the wound close. Hurts like Hell, but I'll live."

Sora looked at the wound closely. He put his hand to it and felt something. Darkness. It may have sealed the wound, but it was still causing him harm. Sora pulled his hand away, and as he did, he pulled the Darkness from the wound. In his hand was a small ball of Dark energy. With nowhere else to go, it merged with Sora, healing the gash on his side.

"Well," Kairi started, "this has been one hell of a day." She relaxed her shoulders and let out a big sigh. Smiling for the victories that they all had made today.

Unfortunately, it was short lived.

A/N : So yeah, a shorter chapter than last, but I'm building it up to a big climax, so keep on reading.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Kairi starred at the gigantic white colossus in horror. Saix, from three floors down, gave a sly smile. "Fools," he weakly said. "Our TEST SUBJECT is far too much for you. Meet the TWILIGHT THORN." With that Saix once again passed out, this time with that smug look on his face.

Riku looked shocked beyond belief. He'd faced a Darkside before, which was arguably the same size, but he had not faced an army of Nobodies and two Organization members beforehand. This thing was about 4 stories tall. Riku's shock had not left his face, but it didn't look like this new development had hit him as hard as it had Kairi. She looked horrirfied. So much fighting, it was a wonder she was still awake, but now she looked like she didn't have the will to fight even a small opponent. "It can't be," she weakly spoke. "Why... Why?"

Riku was still injured from shot he took to the back. There was no way he could take on a Twilight Thorn, even IF he had Sora and Kairi's help. This didn't stop Sora though. Sora jumped out the window, straight towards the giant, roaring like a wild animal. He dashed all across the colossus, slashing everywhere he could, but it was pointless. Compared to the Twilight Thorn, Sora was a measly little spider. Sora was simply knocked off the giant, and back into the room.

He landed right next to Kairi. Riku looked at the two of them. Sora was blinded by his rage again. Kairi was too horrirfied to move. Riku was too tired and exhausted to come up with a strategy to beat this new opponent. 'Dammit,' Riku thought to himself. 'Is this the end?! We've come so far, fought for so long, only to be stopped here?!' Riku saw no more hope for them.

"Don't... stop... fighting," said Kairi shakily. She still looked terrified, but now she was standing. "We can't give up here." Kairi grabbed ahold of the Keyblade again, ready for one last battle. "We've come too far to stop now! I'm not gonna give up! They'll have to kill me first!"

Riku's eyes widened. He couldn't see any hope of winning. So how could Kairi? "You're right," he said. Riku readied his weapon for a last stand. "Even if I die here today, I'll go down fighting! Not cowering in a corner!"

The three friends charged towards the monster, screaming at the top of their lungs, but in Sora's case, he was roaring. The gigantic enemy simply swatted them back. They were hit so hard that they hit the wall. It didn't stop them. They charged again, determined to win, to survive, to escape from this nightmare they were trapped in. To no avail could they even get close. The Nobody was too big and powerful for them to fight.

Kairi now had blood dripping from her head, as well as multiple bruises all over her body. Riku could barely stand. He felt as though his ankle might be sprained, maybe even broken. Sora himself was covered in painful bruises, along with blood spilling from a re-opened wound that had not fully healed. Riku couldn't move even if he wanted too. Kairi had lost so much blood that she started to get woozy. As for Sora, he was on his last legs. It was official now. They had lost.

Suddenly laughter broke out. Xigbar had regained consciousness and was sitting in the corner, enjoying the show. "Man," he began, "I can't believe I went through all the trouble of setting up that big Heartless in the Land Of Dragons. It was supposed to be a trap for the imposter and you, Sora." He shrugged like everything he said was simply trivial to him. "Oh well. I guess it's just gonna roam free collecting hearts, once it emerges. Wish I could see it when it's fully grown."

Riku glared at him, wishing his ankle didn't hurt so bad, so that he could go over there and choke him to death. Then it hit him, Xigbar had let a huge Heartless loose. If he made it out of this, he would need to get there and stop it. Problem was, they couldn't go anywhere. Normally he would just use a dark corridor to escape from a tight situation, but he had no idea if he'd even be able to pull one off in his condition.

The Twilight Thorn raised its large hand, ready to smash the three of them into nothingness. This was it. No one was coming to save them now. Riku lowered his head in defeat. He'd given it his all, but in the end, it wasn't enough. Kairi held on to Sora, hugging him tightly, while Sora simply sat with her. Kairi's eyes began to tear up. Riku looked at the two of them. Now was his last chance to tell them who he was. "Listen you two," Riku said. "You should know that I'm really-"

CRASH! The entire castle was now shaking. Riku looked towards the window to see something he never thought he would see. A Darkside was actually fighting the Twilight Thorn. It was holding it by the neck, hitting it over and over and over again. Repeatedly beat the Hell out of it. Riku's shock was so great, his jaw actually dropped. He couldn't understand why a Heartless would go out of it's way to protect humans. Then suddenly, it hit him. He turned his attention towards Sora, then it clicked. Sora was completely wrapped in darkness. The Heartless were mistaking him as one of their own. As a result, anything that threatened the life of another one of them, was met with extreme measures. Heartless DID rely on instinct, but they also had a sense of loyalty as well. Then Riku remembered what form he was in. The dark powers he had were still fresh. Any Heartless would probably assume he was the REAL Ansem.

As the battle went on, the Darkside grabbed ahold of the Twilight Thorn, dragging it down towards the ground. Kairi grabbed the Keyblade, and with it cast CURAGA, to the best of her limited abilities, on to all three of them. It didn't completely heal them, but Riku was able to stand, she was no longer covered in bruises or blood, and neither was Sora.

The three of them walked over to the shattered window just in time to see the end of the battle on the ground. The Darkside had destroyed the Twilight Thorn by, literally, ripping it in half.

Kairi then started to search the area like a madman. Riku simply asked, "What're you doing?"

"Making sure that we're not gonna be attacked right before we finally take, ANOTHER, chance to relax," replied Kairi as she continued to search. Riku couldn't blame her though. After all the Hell they'd been through, he'd hate to sit down and then immediately have to start another battle. "Well, it looks like we're safe... For now."

Riku walked over to Xigbar, ready to get some answers. "Okay, start talking," he commanded. Xigbar gave him a simple smirk. He felt no obligation or reason to tell them anything. He may have been too hurt to move, but that didn't mean he would openly start giving information to an enemy. "Where's the exit to this place?"

Xigbar started to laugh. "Well," he began loudly, "if you're really that desperate to get out of here, you could always jump." Riku looked less than amused. Scratch that, he had a looked that radiated murderous intent. "Why do you think we use Dark Corridors to go everywhere? There is no physical way out of this castle. Unless you wanna take my earlier advice, and jump out the window."

Riku pondered over what he had learned while he had been infiltrating the castle. Then it hit him. He remembered there was a garage where some of the organization members had been working on transportaion. "Oh well Xiggy," Riku said mockingly. "I guess we'll just had to use the vehicles you guys have laying around in that garage of your's." Xigbar's smug smile immediately turned to a dead serious glare.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi left the "WAR ROOM" as they had decided to call it. Riku could feel his strength staring to return. Pretty soon he'd be able to create dark corridors again. Once he could, he had two destinations in mind. Sora's gummi ship, so Sora and Kairi would be safe. And the Land Of Dragons, where Xigbar had unleashed a big Heartless. Hopefully he'd be able to find and eliminate it before it got free.

As they walked along, something came across Kairi's mind. "OH NO," she gasped, causing Riku and Sora to jump, ready for another fight.

"What," asked Riku, clearly not seeing anything worth stressing over.

"What happened to Pluto?!" Riku looked like he wanted to strangle KAIRI now, for making him freak out like that. But before that would happen, Pluto came out from around the corner down the hall. "Oh, there you are." He hadn't gotten very far from the prison cells.

Riku just kept giving Kairi the DEATH GLARE. She couldn't go around freaking him out like that. "Listen Kairi, I'm going to open a corridor that's going to lead to Sora's ship," Riku explained. "When I do, I want you to go with him. I have to go somewhere else." Kairi looked sad to hear that. After all they'd been through, it felt like a shame to just split up, but she knew why they had to. "And don't worry about what's happened to Sora. I've noticed that the power he's using isn't going to last much longer. He'll be back to normal in no time." With that, Riku finally felt enough strength return to him for him to open up two corridors. "Well, this is where we say goodbye. The corridor on the left will take you to Sora's ship."

Kairi looked towards Sora. She felt relieved to know that she could be with him now. However, one last trial had made its way to the three. A dark figure sped past Riku and Sora. When it did, it grabbed Kairi. It was no other than the SUPERIOR IN BETWEEN, Xemnas.

**A/N : AAAHHHHHH! XEMNAS! So yeah. Sorry I haven't updated til now, but my computer crashed, and I lost ALL the data for this chapter, so I had to RE-write it. But I hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned... We're getting close to the finale.**


	10. Chapter 10

FINAL CHAPTER

"Well," spoke Xemnas, "it is the Keyblade master that has made hell in my home." Sora growled at the Nobody holding Kairi. Xemnas simply grinned. "You've changed severely since our last encounter."

"Shove it Xemnas," barked Riku. "Put Kairi dow, NOW!" Riku was definitely not ready for another fight. That didn't stop him from charging at Xemnas, even though he didn't have the strength to summon his Soul Eater. Riku threw fists left and right, but he was tired, and Xemnas wasn't. No hits were able to connect.

Xemnas waited for his chance. He knew blocking would be a waste of his strength. When Riku threw a punch too far, he took his chance. Xemnas kicked Riku so hard that he knocked him into the portal on the right, which lead to the LAND OF DRAGONS. By the time Riku had regained his footing, it was too late. The corridor had become unstable due to him passing through, causing it to close. Sora, Kairi, Pluto, and Xemnas were alone.

Sora ran towards Xemnas, much faster than he should have been able to. Still, Xemnas was in way better shape for this fight. Dodging was practically nothing for him, even with him holding Kairi. "You are nothing like this Sora. You are nothing more than a nuisance now."

Kairi was kicking and punching Xemnas repeatedly trying to get free. "Put me down you douche bag," screamed Kairi. "What?! You afraid of a girl kicking your ass?!"

"Nobodies don't feel fear."

Sora kept attacking. No matter how fast he was, he wasn't fast enough to strike Xemnas in his weakened state. Xemnas wasn't moving at optimal speed either, due to the fact he was lugging around Kairi like dead weight. So he did what he thought was necessary and threw Kairi towards the wall. Kairi was left unconscious on the ground. Sora kept his combat moving relentlessly. Throwing claws left and right, kicking near his face.

Xemnas didn't bother bringing out his etheral blades. He wouldn't need them in a hand to hand combat fight. At least that's what he thought. Sora kept his right hand out of sight and charged a highly dense sphere of darkness. If it were to release its power, the results would be catastrophic for the receiving end. Sora nearly had him, until Xemnas side stepped just enough to escape. He then vanished.

Sora could still feel his presence nearby. Suddenly Xemnas came bursting out of the ground, knocking Sora into the air. Xemnas grabbed Sora by his jacket and said, "We shall go together." Xemnas disappeared, the reappeared, knocking Sora around repeatedly. Between a foe that was vanishing then attacking, it was a miracle that Sora was even breathing at this point. "This darkness that surrounds you it keeping you protected, for now. Very soon you'll be nothing but a beaten boy who can't defend himself."

Xemnas summoned one of his blades to deliver a final strike, but was knocked donw by a lucky shot from Kairi. "Ya know, I'm getting really tired of getting knocked out today," Kairi stated. She looked at the beaten Sora and noticed the darkness was starting to fade away. Not to mention the portal looked too unstable for more than one person to go through. "Well Sora, it looks like I can't go with you." She dragged Sora over to the dark corridor. Her heart was filled with sadness. All she wanted was to be with Sora, but fate had other plans in store for her right now. She lifted Sora up to the best of her abilities, and grabbed his Keyblade. She tossed it through the corridor and fell to her knees, with Sora still in her arms. Some of the darkness had faded away from his face, revealing his mouth. Kairi felt like she had to do this now. She put her hands on his face, and pulled him in for a kiss. She let the kiss go as deep as she could, then she felt a hand on her face. It was Sora's. As the kiss broke, tears fell down her face. "I love you Sora." With that, she pushed Sora through the corridor. As soon as Sora made it all the way through, it collapsed.

Sora came rolling through the corridor, back into the engine room where he found the first corridor. He opened his eyes to see nothing was there. "What happened," he asked to himself. "Did I pass out?" Sora looked over to see his Keyblade lying a few feet away from him, with Kairi's good luck charm on it. He reached for it and removed it. This caused it to revert to the form of the Kingdom Key. Sora put the charm back into his pocket, and headed out of the engine room.

As Sora returned to the cockpit, he noticed Donald and Goofy working like crazy over at their terminals. Donald noticed Sora come in and turned to face him. "Hey Sora, are you okay," asked Donald sincerely. "We thought it'd be best if we just gave you some time to cool down."

"Yeah," Goofy joined in, "You sure took a long time."

Sora couldn't help but give a small smile. The two of them did understand what he was going through. "Yeah, I guess I was so exhausted that I fell asleep." Sora didn't remember anything that happened while he was in his darker form. "Listen guys. I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. We'll find Kairi. Riku too. I know we will." Donald and Goofy just smiled at each other, clearly happy that Sora was back to his old self. "Okay," Sora continued as he sat back in his seat, "where are we headed?"

Donald pulled up the holographic monitor, revealing the world they were approaching. "We're on our way to the LAND OF DRAGONS!"

Sora gave a confident grin. "Okay... LET'S GO!"

_Little did Sora know that very soon, he would find his way back into that castle, and not only find his friends. He would also save them, and the worlds, once again. _

THE END.

**A/N : Thanks for reading this all the way through you guys. I know the finale isn't as long as the more recent chapters, but considering how beaten they were fro all the other battles, I thought it was a fitting ending. I wish I could've gone with a happier ending but staying true to the source does unfortunately limit things. Anyway Thanks again, and I'll start working on another story ASAP. :)**


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